Riots at the Rolling Stones concert in Hamburg in 1965

On their first tour of Germany, the Rolling Stones also play in Hamburg's Ernst Merck Hall. But at the end of the two concerts on September 13, 1965, hardly a stone was left unturned. Record:47 arrests and eight injured.

by Maya Ueckert

September 13, 1965, midday, Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel Airport. About 2,000 young people want to see the heaviest band in the world. Girls shriek themselves hoarse, boys yell. When the Rolling Stones get off the plane, cheers break out. The crowd pushes against the barriers. But the police have everything under control. Plenty of emergency services are ready - warned that the fans of the young British band can really rock it at concerts.

Meanwhile, a young guy gets on the train in Uelzen. Ulrich Schröder is 15 years old - and he was really looking forward to this day. "This huge anticipation, that was the best part," he says later. "Now it's finally starting, today I see the Stones - it made my heart tremble."

Rolling Stones precedes "Bad Boys" image

The Rolling Stones' reputation as "bad guys" precedes them, an image that the management consistently gave them in order to set them apart from the "good Beatles". That works fine. The Stones pull out all the stops with their music:loud, rugged, wild. The "Bad Boys" hit the nerve of Germany's rebellious youth who want to shake the establishment - right down to the villages.

"Beatles fans were wimps to us"

"What was on German radio back then wasn't our music. We had nothing to do with Rex Gildo and Roy Black," Schröder recalls. "It was that time of departure, we wanted to break out, to escape the mustiness that surrounded us. The Stones were just right for us. Beatles fans were wimps for us."

Hamburg police prepare for Stones performance

The parents - farmers - are not very enthusiastic about the musical taste of their son. "What do you want with this Hottentot music?" But they let him go to the concert, not without anxious admonitions, because one had already heard wild things about the concerts. "Don't break anything while you're there. If there's trouble or a ruckus, get out of here. Make sure you come back safely. And put on some decent clothes!"

When the 15-year-old finally comes to the Ernst-Merck-Halle, he's blown away. So far he and his friends only know of concerts in villages or small towns with a few hundred people, but this is a different number. "There were thousands of young people and a lot of police. As a boy from the village, you already had an anxious feeling in your stomach."

The day, for which the Hamburg police have prepared themselves so extensively, has so far gone somewhat according to plan. But the Stones are causing more and more uproar in the city, and in the afternoon and early evening the security forces are dealing with the first rampaging fans. Two concerts are scheduled for that day, both completely sold out. The black market is flourishing.

Girls moan in delight and sob

The first concert begins at 5.30 p.m. with a good 6,000 visitors. According to newspaper reports from the time, it was a kind of youth event. Teenagers, mostly 15 or 16 years old, are out of control. The "Hamburger Abendblatt" writes:"Girls moan in ecstasy, sob, are pushed back into their seats by stewards, continue to cry. (...) Half the hall stands on the chairs. A young man begins to undress. On the orders of the steward, he has to he has to get dressed again. Now he's hitting his temples with his shoes. It's spooky." Apparently the guy who wants to rip his clothes off is the most scandalous part of the afternoon show.

The fun ends pretty quickly too. Ulrich Schröder can hardly believe that the Stones will stop after 20 minutes. "Of course that was a bit disappointing. Well, and with the screeching you didn't hear much of the music either, the system couldn't handle it." After all, he also has a ticket for the second concert - and he's just happy to be there that day. "We stood on the backs of the chairs, kind of holding each other. It was an experience I'll never forget."

Rockers heat up the atmosphere:"Now there's plaster!"

Also at the second concert the Stones make a lot of noise, the hall is boiling, but the guys on stage have the fans under control. But now it's getting hot outside. More than 2,000 young people rioted, partly out of frustration at not having received tickets, partly because of "dull indignation against everything," as an "Abendblatt" reporter writes. "Now there's plaster," is the slogan, and a street fight ensues for hours. Right in the middle is a group of young people who are already known in the city as "riot mongers". The rockers from the city park, also known as "rowdys", heat up the explosive atmosphere.

There's a riot in front of the Ernst-Merck-Halle

The balance according to newspaper reports at the time:damaged cars, overturned guard houses, downed trees, destroyed waste paper baskets, shredded election posters, demolished street lamps and shop windows. 47 youths are arrested, there are eight injured. And Ulrich Schroeder? "I was a boy from the village. I didn't feel comfortable with all that, so I quickly fled after the concert to be on the safe side."

From ardent fan to museum operator

On this day nobody suspects that the Stones have a decades-long world career ahead of them. And Ulrich Schröder has no idea how much these guys will influence his own life. Over the years he has become one of their biggest fans. He gets to know guitarist Ron Wood personally, which also gives him contact to the other band members. He is often present at concerts in the otherwise strictly sealed off backstage area. And finally he fulfills a dream:in 2011 he opens the Stones Fan Museum in Lüchow - in which, of course, tickets and posters from the Hamburg concerts in 1965 can also be found.